Small business leaders share economic priorities with RI politicians

WARWICK, R.I. -- Small business owners offered state legislative leaders on Friday many of the usual suggestions to improve Rhode Island's business climate, including lowering taxes, reducing cumbersome regulations and weighing the costs of initiativ

WARWICK, R.I. -- Small business owners offered state legislative leaders on Friday many of the usual suggestions to improve Rhode Island's business climate, including lowering taxes, reducing cumbersome regulations and weighing the costs of initiatives before approving legislation.

But at the U.S. Small Business Administration's annual economic summit, suggestions reached beyond what have long been considered typical business concerns. Business leaders and politicians in Rhode Island now clearly recognize that education and skills training at all levels, beginning in the very early years, will have positive effects on businesses and the economy.

That's because better educated and better trained workers become the kinds of employees that businesses need to produce goods and services that can fuel the economy.

Rhode Island, struggling to recover nearly 40,000 jobs lost in the Great Recession, often ranks near the bottom in business-climate rankings. Rhode Island's 9.1-percent unemployment rate for August, the latest data available, is third-highest in the country.